“We do not negotiate with terrorists": Perspectives on resolving conflicts with non-state actors

With the aim of stabilizing governments’ political systems and outlawing terrorism, many politicians repeat: “We do NOT negotiate with terrorists!” However, their actions often contradict this seemingly uncompromising stance. Whether it is the British government which maintained a secret back channel to the IRA even after the British cabinet being attacked, or the government of Afghanistan which attempts peace talks with the Taliban.

So when it comes to negotiating with terrorist there is a discrepancy of what governments say and what they actually do. The unbendable attitude of ‘no negotiations’ has prevented to explore how to set up negotiations in such conditions. How should democracies negotiate with terrorists, without destabilizing its political system? What kind of terrorists are more easy to approach? When to start negotiations? Questions like these will be discussed by some experts in this lecture of May.